Silymarin and Liver Disease

Silymarin provided protection against the toxic effects of long-term treatment with psychotropic drugs (used in mental illness) in a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled clinical study of 60 people. Before the study began, all of the participants had been taking the psychotropic drugs phenothiazine or butyrophenone, or both, for at least 5 years. Subjects were divided into four groups for the 3-month trial: group I took psychotropic drugs and a high dose of silymarin (800 mg per day), group 11 took psychotropics with placebo, group III took silymarin only (800 mg per day), and group IV took placebo. Silymarin provided liver protection to group I by reducing blood levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), an indicator of liver damage that increases during long-term treatment with psychotropics. Not surprisingly, the decrease in MDA levels was even greater in the group taking silymarin alone (group III ). Patients in group II continued to experience rising levels of MDA, whereas those who took placebo had declining MDA levels until the psychotropics were reinstated. There were no adverse effects associated with Milk Thistle treatment.
Alcoholic Liver Disease
A 1981 double-blind study followed 106 Finnish soldiers with mild alcoholic liver disease. In the treated group, there was a significant improvement in liver function as measured by blood tests and biopsy. 19 Another study reported similar results.20 However, a study of 116 participants showed little to no benefit,21 as did another study of 72 people followed for 15 months.
The cranberry extract.
The Uses of Cranberry Extract
The uses of cranberry fruit extract, according to MayoClinic.com, are not limited to the well-known use of treating urinary tract infections in conjunction with other treatment like antibiotics; there are many other uses for which cranberry has been studied. The Mayo Clinic recommends use of cranberry to prevent urinary tract infections; MayoClinic.com also provides information on other medical uses that are still in the process of being researched, but that have shown unclear to good scientifically sound results.
Urinary Tract Infection Prevention
The uses of cranberry fruit extract includes preventing urinary tract infections; according to MayoClinic.com, "the sum total of favorable evidence combined with laboratory research tends to support this use." Though the Mayo Clinic does not specify a particular dose for optimal use, they do know that the extract seems to function by keeping bacteria from sticking to cells that line the bladder. The Mayo Clinic considers the scientific evidence for this use to be "good."